Drunk who wandered into Leeds home thinking he lived there is jailed for burglary
A drunk who wandered into a property and terrified the occupants, claiming it was house, has been jailed for burglary.
Gavin McGlinchey then left the property and was knocking at a neighbouring house before racially abusing the shocked resident.
McGlinchey admitted burglary and racially-aggravated harassment at Leeds Crown Court.
Prosecutor Thomas Doyle said the first victim had been upstairs with her partner at her home on Lumley Grove in Burley at around 8pm on January 31.
They heard the front door open and shouted downstairs. McGlinchey responded by saying “hello”.
They came down to find him stood in the doorway of the kitchen. He told them that he lived there and had lost his bag.
He then passed his own bank card to the woman and asked her to write his name down. He refused to leave but they eventually ushered him out of the door.
The 43-year-old then went to the second property and was knocking on the door asking to be let in.
When the woman came to a window be began shouting racist abuse towards her before staggering off towards Beechwood Crescent.
The police were contacted and he was arrested a short time later.
McGlinchey, of Bankfield Terrace, Burley, has 15 previous convictions for 38 offences, including burglary.
He appeared in court via video link from HMP Lincoln, where he was being held on remand.
Mitigating, Rhianydd Clement said McGlinchey was “very drunk” and had “limited memory” of the night.
She said he had hit the bottle hard after his aunty, who had helped raise him, died the week before.
She added: “He struggled to cope and turned to drink. He knows he should not have done it.”
She said he is a father of three and added: “They are sick of him going in and out of custody.
“He knows now is the time to make that change and make his children proud.”
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar jailed him for 20 months and said: “Whatever your motive, it’s quite clear you were under the influence of alcohol.
“You broke in, you did not know what you were doing.”